Sakhir, Bahrain: After last season’s sensational run which saw Oracle Red Bull Racing claim 21 wins out of a possible 22, teams and fans alike we anxiously waiting to see whether Max and Checo would offer the same domination on the race track.
The 2024 season began in the exact same fashion as the last – in Bahrain and with a Red Bull 1-2 finish.
When the lights went out at the start, Max reacted well and sent his car across to the left of the track to prevent any attack from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc round the outside of Turn 1.
Behind and starting from P5 on the grid, Checo began on the front foot and quickly seized fourth place from the other Ferrari of Carlos Sainz. Ahead in the final podium position was George Russell of Mercedes.
Russell had similar thoughts, however, and was quickly on the attack to take P2 from Charles Leclerc on lap 3. The Ferrari driver was struggling with his brakes and was soon in the sights of the Mexican. On lap 7, he pounced. Leclerc locked up heading into Turn 10 and went wide. Checo drew alongside and managed to edge past on the short straight and secured P3 as they turned into Turn 11.
Back at the front, the World Champion was building a strong advantage. By lap 10, Max was almost 8 seconds clear of George Russell with Checo in hot pursuit, running only a second behind the Mercedes.
The threat from the chasing Red Bull sent the Mercedes into the pits for fresh Hard tyres at the end of lap 11. At the end of the following tour, the Team brought Checo into the pits for his own switch to hard tyres. He emerged from the pits behind Russell in P9 with plenty of other drivers ahead yet to pit.
We didn’t have to wait long after the switch for fresh tyres before Checo made his move. Russell went too deep into Turn 4 which allowed the Mexican to swept past and set up a potential 1-2 finish for the Team.
Max headed into the pits at the end of lap 17 and in a 2.9s stop he took on Hard tyres to comfortably re-emerge in the lead. At the halfway mark, Max was in complete control, almost 15 seconds ahead of Checo, while the Mexican was also running comfortably with 2.3s in hand over Sainz.
Russell was the first of the front runners to dive into the pits for his second stop at the end of lap 31. Over the following laps, most of the top 10 drivers followed suit and headed for the pits. At the end of lap 36, Checo made his second stop, taking on a set of Soft tyres in a 2.7s stop. He emerged 2-seconds ahead of Carlos Sainz in third.
Max came in for his final stop a lap later, also taking on Soft tyres. When he emerged from the pit lane, he rejoined the track 16 seconds ahead of his team mate. He quickly set his sights on the claiming the race’s fast lap for the extra championship point. He did so with ease, allowing him to manage his pace and cruised home to victory 11 laps later.
Checo crossed the line safely to take P2 and secure the 1-2 finish for the Team.
Reflecting on the race, Sergio Pérez said, “It was a very strong team result, it was not expected to be this good so we’re pretty happy and we’ll take it. We’re going to be analysing everything that happened today to make sure we’re in a good place for Jeddah.”
“I think it’s going to be very different, a lot of high speed and more of a street circuit.”
Having started the 2024 season of with a win, Max Verstappen said, “It was a very good race, probably a little bit better than expected. A very enjoyable race for me.”
Commenting on the RB20’s first race, The World Champion joked, “I think it was not too bad, 1-2 right? It’s a great start for the whole team.” He also looked ahead to Jeddah commenting, “Last year we were very good there, so hopefully we can do the same again, but I also expect other teams to be really close, especially in qualifying. It’s going to be a challenge, but I’m looking forward to it.”
An incredible start to the season. The next race will be on March 9th in Jeddah at 8pm local time.